List your most underrated/overrated comic book writer and artist

[Timothy Hunter]

Overrated:
Chris Claremont
Marv Wolfman
Doug Moench
John Ostrander
Christopher Priest (aka James Owsley)
Jim Lee
Dan Jurgens
Roger Stern
Matt Fraction
Paul Dini
Scott Snyder (I haven't read much of his, but what I have read was underwhelming)
Alan Davis (as a writer. His art is stellar)
Mike Mignola (as a writer. His art is stellar)


Underrated:
Mark Millar (obviously he's highly successful, but he seems to get a lot of undeserved hate)
Marcos Martin
Jason Aaron
David Hine
Jon Arcudi
Tim Sale
Glynn Dillon (as an artist)

I'm sure I've got loads more, but I'm drawing a blank.

Holy Cow I thought I was the only person in this world who doesn't like Mignola's writing!

If Jason Aaron is underrated then why does he written one of the most popular indie comics (Southern Bastards), a highly succesful run on She-Thor, and many of Marvel's Blockbuster Crossovers?

[Mister Mets]

While one person's "Overrated" is another person's "Great Run", I do think that China Mieville's limited work has sort of stayed off of the radar.

Underrated/ overrated heavily depends on your impression of someone's reputation.

I think Jim Lee's overrated, but that's because he's one of the most popular artists. If he were obscure but had the same talent level, I would think he's underrated.

[Timothy Hunter]

Overrated:
J Scott Campbell:
Like another relic from the Nineties, Jim Lee, I strongly doubt Campbell would be as well liked today, if it weren't for nostalgia for that period. His sort of sexual cartoony art style looks absolutely hideous, as if it was made by a user on Deviant Art. Granted, there are some sketches he has done that are passable, but those that are sort of come off if it were drawn by a poor mans-Kyle Baker.

Mark Bagley
I don't know if he's actually popular, (With all due respect to the one person on this who considered him underrated.) but he constantly gets work, and he drew a good portion of the hugely successful Ultimate Spider, so I'd think so. Anyway Bagley's makes me sort of cringe, it's like Manga with all the energy drained by a vacuum.

[Timothy Hunter]

Overrated

Alan Moore
Alan Moore is usually a great writer, Watchmen is fantastic, most of his Swamp Thing run is too, but I disagree with the notion that he's the GREATEST comic book writer of all time. His run on Tom Strong had an un-engaging plot and characters, his run on WildC.A.T.S is extremely incompetent to the extent that if you said it wasn't written by Moore and instead ghost written by Rob Lefield, I would believe you. I could think of many great comic book writers who are much more consistent than Alan Moore. (Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Gilbert Hernandez, Chester Brown... etc.


Underrated

Joshua Dysart
He did a fantastic run on Unknown Soldier, wish he could get more work at the big two.

John Ney Rieber
He wrote a really solid follow up to Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic, with the Books of Magic ongoing series, and while it did suffer from some continuity and tonal problems, he really did write a great series.

Kyle Baker
Possibly the funniest writer/artist to ever work in the comics medium.

[ed2962]

I think many of today's fans overlook Steve Gerber and Don McGregor. Although they both had flaws, they helped push comics further a little bit.

[Mister Mets]

Overrated

Alan Moore
Alan Moore is usually a great writer, Watchmen is fantastic, most of his Swamp Thing run is too, but I disagree with the notion that he's the GREATEST comic book writer of all time. His run on Tom Strong had an un-engaging plot and characters, his run on WildC.A.T.S is extremely incompetent to the extent that if you said it wasn't written by Moore and instead ghost written by Rob Lefield, I would believe you. I could think of many great comic book writers who are much more consistent than Alan Moore. (Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Gilbert Hernandez, Chester Brown... etc.


Underrated

Joshua Dysart
He did a fantastic run on Unknown Soldier, wish he could get more work at the big two.

John Ney Rieber
He wrote a really solid follow up to Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic, with the Books of Magic ongoing series, and while it did suffer from some continuity and tonal problems, he really did write a great series.

Kyle Baker
Possibly the funniest writer/artist to ever work in the comics medium.

Good points on the underrated artists.

While consistency is not Moore's strong suit, his best material is pretty damn good. His 120th best issue probably trumps Gaiman or Brown's, mainly because those guys aren't that prolific.

When looking at consistency, Morrison has fallen flat on his face a few times.

I think many of today's fans overlook Steve Gerber and Don McGregor. Although they both had flaws, they helped push comics further a little bit.

Good calls.

[Timothy Hunter]

I think many of today's fans overlook Steve Gerber and Don McGregor. Although they both had flaws, they helped push comics further a little bit.

After a quick Google search I know Don McGregor wrote one of the first graphic novels, but how did Steve Gerber progress the comic industry? I don’t mean to disrespect Steve Gerber, he is of the greats, but I couldn't find anything that he did progressed the well being of comics

[Timothy Hunter]

Good points on the underrated artists.

While consistency is not Moore's strong suit, his best material is pretty damn good. His 120th best issue probably trumps Gaiman or Brown's, mainly because those guys aren't that prolific.

When looking at consistency, Morrison has fallen flat on his face a few times.

I think you're right about Alan Moore, consistency isn't everything and he has written more iconic works than most, but I disagree with you about Morrison, while his writing isn't always top notch, everything he has written has at least some redeeming values, which I can't say for some of Moore's stuff at Image.

[Timothy Hunter]

Overrated

Andy and Adam Kubert
I don't know why Adam and Andy Kubert are two of the most popular artists in the comic book industry, the way they draw faces are hideous, very much like Scott McDaniel, and their inking styles are the muddiest I've ever seen, as if they drew their work with the world's least sharp pencil.

G Willow Wilson
I heard her reinvention of Mrs. Marvel is the best thing since sliced bread, it's not, it's okay, but it's very pedestrian Marvel, nothing really new we haven't seen before.

Marjorie Liu
Speaking of another critically acclaimed comic I didn't like: Monstress. While it had some pretty pictures, the dialogue reminded a lot of the Star Wars Prequels: Dull, flat, coarse, and too much exposition, absolutely painful to read.

Underrated
Bryan Talbot, you may know him as an artist on the Sandman, but Talbot is also a terrific writer as well. The Tale of One Bad Rat and Alice in Sunderland are truely masterworks of the comics medium. Bryan Talbot also wrote arguably the first British Graphic Novel, with The Adventures of Luther Arkwright.

[Coin Biter]

With Claremont, it's not so much that he's overrated, as that tastes have changed. It's typical to find his style a little overwritten, but he was writing for an audience with different expectations. Yes, it can be a little comical reading about Wolverine soliloquising about how the weather is as "dark and primal" as his soul, but Claremont's style did seem wonderful in the context of the time.

With Moore, I can't accept he's overrated. Sure, not everything he's written has been of timeless brilliance. But if you take away his recent work on Avatar, you'd still have his work for America's Best Comics, such as Promethea and Top 10 (amusingly quoted in the first series of True Detective). If you'd take away that, you'd still have his work on Supreme at Image comics. If you take away that, you'd still have his work such as From Hell, or his marvellous A Small Killing, which I recall reading on its first publication back in 1991. If you were to take away that, you'd still have his famous work for DC: Swamp Thing, Watchmen, his Superman comics, among others. If you were to take away that, you'd still have his 2000AD and Warrior work, including the magnificent Halo Jones, still groundbreaking in featuring an ordinary woman as a protagonist (albeit in a bizarre sci fi universe), when most of British comics at that stage featured badass male antiheroes.

Thing about the works I've listed? It's still far from a comprehensive list There's a huge amount extra to consider, including Marvelman, V for Vendetta... it's been a remarkable career.

[ed2962]

After a quick Google search I know Don McGregor wrote one of the first graphic novels, but how did Steve Gerber progress the comic industry? I don’t mean to disrespect Steve Gerber, he is of the greats, but I couldn't find anything that he did progressed the well being of comics

While he wrote well enuff dramatically, I think he helped bring a healthy amount of satire to comics. Not just in obvious titles like Howard the Duck, but "serious" titles like The Defenders, Man-Thing, and Daredevil. While it wasn't well received at the time, Void Indigo pushed some boundaries in terms of sex and violence for a mainstream Marvel comic for the time.

[dancj]

Really? These are easily two of the better writers in the industries, most of their work is very easy to read and enjoy.

Nah. They pretty much guarantee I won't enjoy a story (unless that story is Reign of the Supermen).

Paul Dini did a great job for the DCAU, I didn't see much to praise of his work out of that.

I'm beginning to suspect that Bruce Timm was the more important one. Dini's comics have ranged from dull (Detective Comics) to insulting (Superman: Peace on Earth).

I think Dan Jurgens has exactly the "reliable work horse who won't embarrass you but also rarely excite you" rating he deserves. I am not sure where and when he was overly praised.

Fair point.

If Jason Aaron is underrated then why does he written one of the most popular indie comics (Southern Bastards), a highly succesful run on She-Thor, and many of Marvel's Blockbuster Crossovers?

My perception could be wrong, but I don't see him raved about much.

With Claremont, it's not so much that he's overrated, as that tastes have changed. It's typical to find his style a little overwritten, but he was writing for an audience with different expectations.

I tried his comics at the time (circa: Inferno and Great Mutant Massacre) and I thought they were tedius back then.

[JBatmanFan05]

Underrated
Bryan Talbot, you may know him as an artist on the Sandman, but Talbot is also a terrific writer as well.

Talbot did LOTDK Mask, which is a very underrated Batman story. It actually has two versions, the original published version and director's cut version in Batman Dark Legends TPB.

[Timothy Hunter]

While he wrote well enuff dramatically, I think he helped bring a healthy amount of satire to comics. Not just in obvious titles like Howard the Duck, but "serious" titles like The Defenders, Man-Thing, and Daredevil. While it wasn't well received at the time, Void Indigo pushed some boundaries in terms of sex and violence for a mainstream Marvel comic for the time.

Oh, Okay I agree.

[Timothy Hunter]

I'm beginning to suspect that Bruce Timm was the more important one. Dini's comics have ranged from dull (Detective Comics) to insulting (Superman: Peace on Earth).

Actually I disagree Bruce Timm directed and co wrote the animated adaptation of the Killing Joke - without Paul Dini mind you, and it was widely lampooned, goes to show you can't always depend on Bruce Timm. Also the Superman: Doomsday film, (Which he also done without Dini) got mixed reviews (57% Rotten Tomatoes.)